One of my favorite sayings that I quote quite frequently came from a volunteer I hosted during my early years in Haiti. We were crammed tight together in the bed of a large pick-up truck, sweaty and tired after a long day at a medical clinic in the mountains. As we pulled back into our compound and began to stretch our bruised limbs from the bumpy ride, she looked at me and said, “I know I’m only here for a week, but I want global work to be my lifestyle, not just a pastime.” 

In that moment, all I wanted to do was hug her, but knowing how bad I smelled, I refrained. Her words were so simple, yet they so beautifully conveyed what I had been feeling since my first service trip in high school. Global work is not just something we do; being missional is who we are called to be. 

Worship is the same. It is not just something we do, it is how we are called to live. 

I love how Paul worded this in Romans 12:1 when he said our spiritual worship is to be a living sacrifice for God. To worship God is more than just what we do collectively on Sunday mornings, but it is how we live our day to day. 

Spiritual worship is being the hands and feet of Jesus.  

Spiritual worship is loving our neighbor.  

Spiritual worship is seeking justice for the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow. 

Spiritual worship is giving up our own image so that God’s image may be seen. 

As a mother who has birthed two of my four children, I understand the ideas of my body being a living sacrifice for someone I love. The stretch marks on my belly and chronic sciatic pain are daily reminders of what it took for me to have my youngest sons in my life. As a Christian, I need to be willing to grow spiritual stretch marks as well. To daily sacrifice my life for the God who I love, too. Because I want spiritual worship to be my lifestyle, not just a pastime.